The School Committee and the Harvard Educators Association (formerly the Harvard Teachers Association) negotiated throughout 2022 in an effort to reach a three-year contract to take effect next September. But those negotiations apparently reached an impasse last month, and the HEA filed a complaint with the state Labor Relations Commission.
The complaint was filed Dec. 21, 2022, but the School Committee only became aware of it Jan. 4, Chair Abby Besse said in an email.
The HEA’s complaint indicates negotiations have focused on cost-of-living raises, stipends for department heads, and how the cost of health insurance is to be divided between teachers and the town.
The complaint alleges the Harvard School District has engaged in “regressive bargaining” and “surface bargaining,” both of which violate Massachusetts law. In regressive bargaining, one side makes a new offer that is lower than an earlier one. Surface bargaining implies one side is not really trying to reach an agreement and is just going through the motions of negotiating; it is considered an extremely difficult charge to prove.
According to the HEA complaint, the district made a verbal offer in early October that the HEA rejected. The complaint says the district next made an “off-the-record” offer that was lower overall and then reverted to its original offer in mid-November.
At a Dec. 6 meeting, the complaint says the school district’s attorney, Elizabeth Valerio, proposed filing for mediation, which the HEA opposes. “The District has failed to bargain in good faith,” the HEA complaint concludes.
Committee ‘bargained in good faith’
This week the School Committee issued a formal response, saying in part, “During this past year, the Committee has made a number of proposals including proposals that were developed in response to concerns expressed by the HTA. The Committee has at all times bargained in good faith with the HTA to reach an agreement that fairly compensates our educators while being mindful of the financial constraints of the town and the impact to Harvard taxpayers. … [I]n December 2022, the Committee’s negotiating team suggested that the assistance of a mediator could be helpful. Shortly after that suggestion was made, the HTA filed a charge with the state’s labor board. The Committee believes that the charge is without merit and looks forward to responding thoroughly at the labor board while at the same time continuing to negotiate in good faith to reach an agreement with the HTA.”
